18-Second Clock Error Reportedly Made Before Final Steelers vs. Chargers Drive

The Pittsburgh Steelers won their Monday night showdown with the San Diego Chargers in the most dramatic fashion possible, but it apparently didnt have to be such a nail-biter of a finish.LeVeon Bell reached the ball over the goal line as time expired to clinch the 24-20 victory. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin elected to go for the win on the games final play instead of kicking the tying field goal, but former Vice President of Officiating and current Fox Sports analyst Mike Pereira noted the Steelers should have had more time to make a decision:The kickoff occurred after the Chargers took the lead with a 54-yard field goal, and 18 seconds ticked off from the end of the touchback to Pittsburghs first snap. Jason Vida of ESPN provided a look at the box score during the timing error:ProFootballTalk also reacted to the mistake:Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk pointed out the clock was running while Michael Vick was walking onto the field for the final drive, and the officials and television broadcasters failed to notice. Florio provided more context:Either way, it would have been a major mess for the NFL if the Steelers had failed to score on the final drive due to the clock running out. It should still be a mess for the league and ESPN, because someone should have noticed it and done something about it before the Steelers took their first snap after the kickoff.The NFL and its officials also found themselves in the middle of controversy during the Week 4 Monday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions. Calvin Johnson fumbled at the 1-yard line, and Seattle linebacker K.J. Wright batted it out the back of the end zone.The Seahawks were rewarded the ball after the touchback, but Wright should have been penalized for the illegal batting. That would have given the Lions the ball back down 13-10 with a golden opportunity to score.At least Bell found the end zone Monday and prevented two game-altering mistakes from completely overshadowing Monday Night Football during back-to-back weeks.
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